


Sweet Kisses

by ScarletBerry



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, 달의 연인-보보경심 려 | Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Betrayal, F/M, Fear, Love, Marriage, Misunderstandings, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-13 05:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11178150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletBerry/pseuds/ScarletBerry
Summary: He watched her from dusk until dawn. He watched her as the first light slowly filtered in through the thick curtains, barely enough to break into the cool darkness of the previous night. Like a timer, it woke her. He closed his eyes and felt her move out of bed.When next he opened them, she was gone.





	1. So

**Author's Note:**

> Because I've been feeling down lately...
> 
> A modern take on SoSoo's breakup, from episodes 18 - 19, with some much needed modern-day twists.
> 
> This mini-series has no relation to my main fic [EPILOGUE: I Will Find You](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8805586/chapters/20188318)
> 
> This work was inspired by a lot of things. I ask for patience, please read until the end to know the full story.
> 
> Only 5 chapters, and I will be updating every 3 days. Happy reading.

 

_He watched her from dusk until dawn. He watched her as the first light slowly filtered in through the thick curtains, barely enough to break into the cool darkness of the previous night._

_Like a timer, it woke her. He closed his eyes and felt her move out of bed._

_When next he opened them, she was gone._

 

 

Their marriage was failing. He knew it was. With each day gone without words exchanged, he knew... one day he would lose her. He could already feel her growing further and further away from him.

It pained him.

He wished he could go back. If he could only undo what had happened.

 

 

 

The day he married her had been like a dream. He never knew himself to be so happy.

A vision in white, with summer petals floating in through the open doors all around her, she glided towards him like a daydream. He could see, even through her veil, the nervous smile on her full lips. He could see how beautiful she looked. He couldn't see anything else.

 

_I love you. Only you. Do you no longer believe me?_

 

 

 

"Let's go somewhere, far away."

When he first suggested it, she had looked away; buried her nose in her book and continued reading until she fell asleep.

He couldn't leave things as they were and risk losing her. He didn't want to believe she no longer wanted to be with him. So even though every time afterwards had been the same, he never stopped trying.

But today was different. This time, she looked at him.

He knelt before her and took her hands gently into his own.

"Soo-yah... drop everything. Come with me."

"Where would we go?" Her voice was a soft whisper, the uncertainty in her eyes matching the coldness of her hands.

"Anywhere. Wherever you want."

 

 

 

They found themselves on the island of Jeju, overlooking lush green plains. The air was fresh and cool, the sun bright but not hot.

He smiled as he watched her, bright-eyed as he hadn't seen her in weeks.

He missed seeing her like this.

They had adjusted to each other quickly enough during the first two years of their marriage. He had made sure to end every argument with sweet kisses. He had made sure to remember every anniversary, every event important to her. He had made sure she was always happy.

Her smiles had come more easily then, for she was easy to please but also quick to anger.

His time was all she wanted; he made sure to give her more.

"Shall we visit the lighthouse?" he asked.

She opened her eyes, blinked away the sun, and nodded. They got on their bikes and rode off together.

At the top of the lighthouse they stood, looking out over the sea. They were inches apart, close enough to touch should they have wanted to. And all around them was noise - the sound of the ocean waves, the laughter of children, the careless chatter of families and friends, the footsteps of strangers. Yet the air between them held none but their usual silence.

"Excuse me?"

They both turned to find an elderly couple smiling at them. In the woman's outstretched hand was a camera.

Soo complied eagerly. Being a make-up artist, she knew how to manipulate light to her advantage. He watched her direct the happy old couple with a smile. He felt like it had been years since he'd last heard the sound of her laughter. He wished he knew how to make her laugh again.

"Thank you, we've been arguing about this the entire trip," said the old woman after Soo had taught them how to review their pictures. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Oh... he's... my husband," Soo replied. She tried to mask the tension with an awkward little laugh. He saw her unconsciously touch the wedding band on her fourth finger.

"She's a sweet little lady. You're a very lucky man," the old man informed him. All he could do was smile and nod his agreement.

"Any children?" the old woman asked eagerly, looking at them as though hoping a small child would suddenly pop out from in between the cracks on the floor.

The air between So and Soo grew, if it were possible, even thicker.

"Ah, no," Soo replied with a little smile. "We're thinking about it, though."

They stayed on in silence long after the old couple had left. They watched the sunset together.

In the remnants of light from the fallen sun, he took her hand and held it tightly. Her ring pressed against his own, cold against warm.

"Let's go back," she suggested quietly, finally pulling away.

  

 

 

He found her in the dark later that night, sitting on the porch floor, looking out over the dark shoreline.

He switched off his phone to dissuade further calls from his family and left it on the table inside.

 

_We can't run from each other forever. Will you not hear me out?_


	2. Soo

Soo knew it was only a matter of time before her husband left her for good.

After that one fight, she felt the shadow in their relationship grow longer and longer with every word left unspoken, with every minute they spent apart.

He always used to kiss her after every fight. He didn't that one time. She supposed it was too big a fight, even though it hadn't been her fault. It couldn't have been. She couldn't remember ever doing anything to warrant her husband cheating on her.

  
_"He needs someone he can rely on, who can protect and understand him. Sadly, my dear... you are not that person."_

  
Soo heard his keys on the front door and immediately rushed to the bathroom to dry her tears.

She listened in silence, seeing him in her mind's eye. She knew his routine by heart.

After dropping his briefcase onto the couch, he would pour himself a glass of water from the kitchen. He would take the glass with him to their bedroom, where he would change and wash up.

Fifteen minutes were all she had. Fifteen minutes were all it took.

It was her turn to cook today. She finished preparing dinner as loudly as she could to make him know she was there. After weeks of silence, any word spoken sounded alien, so she avoided conversations as much as she could.

After placing an array of side dishes on the table, she picked up the book she had just bought and walked over to her usual spot in the living room to read. Once he started eating, she would then retreat into their bedroom and continue reading there. She developed this method when she realized he had carried her into their bed every time she fell asleep on the couch.

Though she wished she had been awake to feel his arms around her in those times, these days she dreaded having him physically near her.

"Soo-yah."

She looked up in surprise to see him standing there, still in his work clothes.

She had quite forgotten how dashing he looked in formal attire. His messy hair only served to make her want to run her fingers through it, to comb it neatly away from his face the way she used to in the days before their big fight.

"Let's go somewhere, far away."

Before she could react, he walked over to her and knelt before her. His hands held their usual warmth, holding hers with usual tenderness.

"Soo-yah... drop everything. Come with me."

She swallowed hard and looked away. There was no escaping it now. "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere. Wherever you want."

She wanted to revisit the place they had spent their very first night together. If it was all going to end soon, they might as well end it there. It seemed only fitting.

"Jeju," she said, pulling her hands away and getting up. "I want to go to Jeju."

 

 

 

 

The weather in Jeju couldn't have been more beautiful and Soo tried her best to enjoy it. There was no point in moping before her whole life fell apart.

He rarely spoke except to suggest places to go, things to eat. She didn't mind. It was better than having to force a conversation. And, she reasoned as she fingered the stone window of the island's lone lighthouse, anything more private could wait until they were alone again in the resort room they were staying in.

"Oh, he's very handsome," the kind halmeoni she had been helping whispered with a cluck. "My Hyuk Jae used to be quite the looker in his youth, too."

Soo watched her husband talking with the old man. He was smiling, very faintly.

"Yes," she whispered back her agreement and smiled, "he is."

"Any children?"

The question surprised Soo, more so because it had been spoken out loud. She turned around and saw that he had, indeed, heard it.

She tried to laugh off the sudden awkwardness. "Ah, no. We're thinking about it, though," she said at once, hoping the old woman would stop looking sooner rather than later.

She thanked the heavens for whoever thought loose shirts could be fashionable.

Not that she had much to hide... at least not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **So before y'all murder me on the whole So cheating thing, just remember that he _did_ sleep with Yeonhwa in ep 18/19 of the drama, after she exchanged her brother's life for the King's bed lol**
> 
> **Or at least, they made us _think_ they slept together.**
> 
> **;P**
> 
> **Chapter 3 to be posted on the 23rd.**


	3. With All My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _It hurt to see the doubt in her eyes. "I made a mistake that night... I would never knowingly lie to you now if it meant hurting you even more. Soo-yah... do you really not trust me anymore?"_
> 
> _She sniffed and looked away. "I don't know," she said, her voice hoarse from crying, "I don't know if I trust you."_

It was well after dark when So finally returned. Soo felt him approach and wrap her in a blanket. She appreciated it, both for the warmth and for the bit of privacy it gave her as she pulled it higher up to cover her face so that only her eyes could be seen.

"Work?" she asked softly, referring to the phone call he'd just received.

He grunted his affirmation and sat down beside her. "More trouble. They want me to drop by tomorrow."

She allowed her short hair to flow down and cover her face. "What time are you leaving?"

He looked at her in surprise. "I'm not going anywhere. I gave them advice then told them to fix their own damn problems and to leave me in peace for a few days." He sighed, and she suddenly realized how stressed he sounded. "My idiot uncle always manages to mess up when I'm not around. They can't expect me to clean up after him forever."

"Oh, okay," she mumbled, not sure if she was happy or not. She hugged her knees to her body and waited. He had more to say, she could tell.

"Soo-yah... we need to talk," he said at last.

Soo closed her eyes and withdrew deeper into her blanket. "Hm?"

"You can't avoid me forever."

She wanted to point out that it had been he who had been avoiding her, but she felt too weak, too depressed to argue.

"Soo-yah-"

"It's okay," she forced herself to say. She didn't need to hear any more. She didn't want to. "I understand. You don't need to say anything else."

She got up and made to get back inside, but he grabbed her arm and held her in place.

"I don't think you do understand," he said. "If you did... you wouldn't be doing this now. You wouldn't be pushing me away."

"Who's pushing who?" she mumbled, choked by her tears. "It's you who's been avoiding me."

"Because I thought you were angry."

"Of course I'm angry!" she yelled, all the hurt and frustration she'd felt over the past two months spilling out of her. "You betrayed me! I loved you! I trusted you!"

"I'm sorry," he said, trying his best not to reach out to her, knowing further physical contact between them was unwelcome. In all the years they'd known each other, he's never seen her cry like this. And it was his fault. All his fault.

His apology was not what she wanted to hear from him. She wanted to hear him say it was all wrong... that she'd heard wrong... that none of it had happened. She wanted him to take away the profound pain and betrayal she had been feeling since that day.

"Why her?" she sobbed, thumping his chest weakly with her fist. "Why did you do it? How could you do this to me?"

He let her hit him. "I thought she was you."

She shook her head and stepped away. "Nevermind, I don't want to hear it. I don't need excuses. You don't need to lie to me."

"Soo-yah, I'm not lying," he said, desperately trying to make her stay. "I really thought she was you."

   
_"I'm carrying his child. If you have any decency left in you, leave him now. You were never meant to be anyway."_

   
"Please," she pleaded through her tears, "I can't take it anymore. Please... if you're going to leave me, just go."

He looked at her in surprise. "Leave you? Soo-yah... I'm not leaving you. I would never- What makes you think..." A thought suddenly hit him, making his blood run cold. "Who have you been talking to? What did they say?"

"It doesn't matter what they said because they were right... I have nothing to offer you. Thinking about it now, I don't even know why you asked me to marry you. Your world is different from mine. I'll never fit in, I'll never-"

"You belong with me... that's all you need to remember. That's all that matters."

She shook her head, endless tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Soo-yah..."

"You belong to her. I see that now. You were never really mine."

"I have always been yours," he said fiercely. He had no idea these were her real feelings. How could he have allowed such thoughts to remain with her for so long? It was no wonder she had barely spoken to him. " _Always._ Is it Yeonhwa? Has she been speaking to you?"

When she made no reply, he knew he had guessed right. Anger surged through him at the thought of that woman threatening and lying to Soo.

"Soo-yah... there is nothing left between me and Yeonhwa."

"I saw the pictures." She closed her eyes at the memory. She had felt cold then; she felt cold now. "I saw you kissing her. I saw you get into a room with her."

This was his first time hearing about those pictures. If they existed, that meant he had been set up. Surely, Soo could see that?

But then the fact remained that he _had_ kissed Yeonhwa. He _had_ gotten into a room with her. Only...

"Nothing happened."

Soo sighed. There was nothing more she wanted than to believe him. But how could she?

"It very nearly did," he said honestly, cupping her face in his hand and wiping her tears away. "I won't lie to you. She had on your perfume... her skin, her hair... everything reminded me of you. I missed you. I hadn't seen you in weeks because of work and the alcohol made me miss you more. When I thought you had come to meet me at the party, I dropped all my defenses and followed my senses. I wanted to believe she was you. I was wrong. Soo-yah... I was wrong. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"She's pregnant," she said at last, the bitter words making her hairs stand on end. "She told me so herself."

It took a moment for him to recover from his shock. "Pregnant?"

"And she claims it's yours."

He was going to kill that woman. He could barely contain his anger. "She lied."

Soo sighed in defeat. "Why would she lie about something like that? Does that make any sense?"

"I don't know what goes through that crazy woman's head, but you have to believe me... things never got that far between us."

It hurt to see the doubt in her eyes. "I made a mistake that night... I would never knowingly lie to you now if it meant hurting you even more. Soo-yah... do you really not trust me anymore?"

She sniffed and looked away. "I don't know," she said, her voice hoarse from crying, "I don't know if I trust you."

_I want to. I wish we could go back to how things were. I can't do this on my own._

"What can I do to make things right again?"

She wiped her eyes on the corner of her blanket. "I don't know."

 _Don't say that._  Welcome or not, he drew her into his arms. "I'll take a test to prove it isn't mine. I'll make her confess the truth. Until then, will you give me the benefit of the doubt?"

_I want to believe you._

"I need to know something..." she whispered quietly, "will you answer me this?"

_Anything._

"Do you... still love me?" she looked into his eyes properly for the first time in weeks.

He never blinked, never faltered, never hesitated. "With all my heart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And you all thought I was gonna break your hearts :D  
> **   
>  **Or... am I? Am I not?**
> 
>   **Chapter 4 will be the longest one in this mini series. Chapter 5 is when everything will be explained :D  
> **  
>  **Thank you for reading, and see you on the 26th!**
> 
> =======================
> 
> Teaser for Chapter 4:
> 
> _She wasn't ready. She hadn't yet thought of how to tell him. Something told her having him find out in this way would be disastrous._
> 
> _And it was._


	4. Holding Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _She wasn't ready. She hadn't yet thought of how to tell him. Something told her having him find out in this way would be disastrous._  
>     
>  _And it was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter ahead. Brace yourselves!

_She awaited the day of his return with great excitement._

_According to the doctor, she was more than a couple of weeks into her pregnancy, which meant they had conceived before making the decision to finally start a family together._

_And she hadn't told him yet. She knew how much he had always wanted a baby, and she decided it would be better to tell him in person rather than through impersonal, electronic devices._

_However, things didn't go at all as planned._

_She was dismayed to learn that he would need to drop by a party first before coming home. "Father's orders," he said with a regretful sigh, "I'm sorry. I'll try to be home sooner, but if I can't, don't wait up for me. Get some sleep." There was a smile in his voice when he added, "I'll be with you when you wake up."_

_She was a heavy sleeper and he knew it. Though it was always pleasant to wake in his arms, she wanted to fall asleep with him this time._

_She had everything ready and she didn't want to wait any longer._

_"Aish, it's almost eleven!" she cried impatiently, laying down on the sofa and turning on the TV. Cooking shows. Food. She promptly shut it off. She had been eating quite a lot the past few days and didn't require much temptation to cave in and begin eating again. She had already bought enough food to last them for weeks, something she had never done before. He was bound to notice and speculate._

_And she'd be damned if he ended up finding out about their baby through her food rather than through her._

_When he finally did come, it was well past midnight and she was moodily munching on an apple, but seeing him had reignited her excitement so that she even forgot about being cross for making her wait for so long._

_She rushed to greet him, but to her surprise, he held back, apologized for being late, and then he told her to get some sleep because he still had some things he needed to do._

_"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked in concern._

_"Another time," he said softly, "let's speak again. Okay?"_

_She couldn't understand why he was acting this way. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't even look at her for longer than a few seconds. She thought he would have missed her as much as she missed him._

 

 

 _Something had felt wrong, so he had left the room with_   _a splitting headache, his entire body feeling like it was burning. Though the woman smelled like Soo, her body felt different in his hands. Though her hair was the same color, the same length... she had kissed differently._

_It had taken all of forever for his mind to clear. He lodged in Baek Ah's place 'til then._

_"How much did you drink, exactly?" Baek Ah asked in a worried voice after he had thrown up a third time. "I've never seen you so... well, like this."_

_So shook his head. "I don't remember."_

_"Wow. You drank so much you can't even remember?"_

_"I don't think I drank that much... at least, not more than usual. Baek Ah-yah... I think... I may have..." The horror of what had potentially happened left him feeling paralyzed._

_But no, he had left the room before things could progress that much._ _The tonic seemed to be helping. His mind, which had been disturbingly hazy for the past two hours, had finally started to clear again._

_"What? You look like you've seen a ghost." Baek Ah poured him a glass of water. "Also, if you were feeling this poorly, you know Soo can mix tonics and herbs much better than what I've been giving you. Why would you leave her and come here? Did you fight?"_

_"I haven't seen her yet."_

_That shocked Baek Ah. He eyed the kiss stains on his cousin's shirt and skin, his disheveled appearance and haunted expression. "Then why..." his voice trailed off, and his jaw slackened in disbelief. His cousin was many things... but a womanizer was not one of them._ _He sat on the chair across and demanded answers. "What happened?"_

_So shook his head again. "Yeonhwa. I don't remember much of anything else."_

_Baek Ah respected So more than anyone, but he was this close to hitting him. "You slept with her?!"_

_"No," So said firmly. "That much I'm sure of. I left before we..." he shut his eyes, feeling so sick, he thought he might throw up again._

_"Then what?" Baek Ah demanded sharply._

_"We kissed. I don't even remember getting into a room with her. I only remember leaving." He groaned and buried his head in his hands. "What have I done, Baek Ah-yah?"_

_Baek Ah shut his own eyes and rubbed his temples, feeling equally stressed. But he knew what should be done first. "You need to find a way to tell Soo. You did wrong, but I think she will understand. She's not unreasonable. Besides, she's probably still waiting for you. You know how she is."_

_He knew._

_And when she rushed to greet him, looking so happy and lovely even in just her nightgown, the urge to take her into his arms and never let go was so strong that it hurt all the more when he had to push her away._

_Despite having changed and washed up, he could still feel Yeonhwa's lips on his, her hands all over his body. And he couldn't bear to touch Soo... he couldn't disrespect her like that. He loved her too much._

_The hurt and confusion on her face cut him deep, but he turned his back on her and locked himself in the study to cry._

 

* * *

 

_**I'm holding back the tears** _

_**I walk trying to lessen the weight of my heart** _

_**To a place that is neither close nor far** _

_**Where a different me stands** _

_**I will not cry** _

 

* * *

 

 “Have you told him?” Eun’s hushed voice might as well have been a scream.

“No,” Soo hissed in sudden paranoia, glancing at the closed bedroom door to make sure So was still inside. She stepped out onto the porch and slid the door shut behind her. Not even the warmth of the early morning sun, nor the soothing sound of the incoming tide could totally dispel her unease. “I don't know how to tell him.”

“Yah, you can't keep something like this a secret forever,” Eun tutted. “Even Jung noticed. _Jung_.” Soo heard her brother-in-law yell, “Hey, I noticed before you!” in the background, but Eun ignored him. “You know, hyung’s bound to notice, too. It's better you tell him before then. Isn't that why you agreed to go on this trip with him in the first place?”

“But I don’t want him to stay with me because he feels obligated!” she whined. “I want him to stay because he wants to.”

“Why can't he stay for both reasons? No matter how you look at it, you're both obligated now to someone other than yourselves.” Sounding suddenly distant, Soo could hear Eun say to Jung, “That was a good line, wasn’t it? It should be put in books as one of the greatest lines of men.”

Jung’s great bark of laughter made Soo smile despite her nerves. She loved talking to these two.

“Anyway, here's another question to put things into perspective…” Eun continued, sounding suddenly serious. “If you weren't about to have a baby… would you have left him by now?”

Unconsciously, Soo placed a hand over her bump. “I don't know. Maybe.”

“Okay, let's try again,” Eun rushed on, clearly panicked by her response. “Do you still love him?”

Soo had to be honest. “Yes. Of course I do.”

“Even though you still think he slept with her?”

Soo sniffed and blinked back her tears. The topic always made her emotional.

“Hyung!” Jung protested, and Soo could actually hear them wrestling over control of the cellphone.

Jung won. “You don't still believe he really loves that devil woman? Didn’t he tell you he loved _you_?”

The events of last night flowed into Soo’s mind like a hot shower.

 

_“Do you… still love me?”_

_“With all my heart.”_

 

The memory alone was enough to make her blush, remembering the way he had hugged her, his warmth enveloping her completely. She hadn't felt his body in the longest time.

“Okay, stop it. Let's talk about something else,” she demanded, pulling her mind and volatile hormones sharply away from their dangerous trajectory.

“Okay, we have good news at least,” Eun said, reclaiming his phone. His voice held barely concealed excitement at the news he was about to share. “We think we've finally-”

“We've found a way to make Won-hyung help us!” Jung finished for him.

Soo waited until the two had stopped slapping and bickering before speaking again. “I don't know, you two, your cousin doesn't strike me as being particularly trustworthy.”

“We don't trust him either, just his love for money,” Jung explained.

Soo blinked in disbelief. “You're _paying_ him?”

“It's the surest way to get him to help us. Not to mention…” Eun paused, his voice on the verge of laughter. “We found some very interesting photos of Wook-hyung’s secretary in his office.”

“Chaeryung?” Soo’s surprise couldn't have been greater.

“That's the one. We're keeping copies as insurance. Wook-hyung won't be too happy with either of them when he finds out-”

“Everything about this is immoral,” Soo stated bluntly.

“We have no other choice. We need to know what really happened that night, and since you don’t want to ask Baek Ah-”

“He’s too close to So,” she said at once.

“Then Won-hyung’s the next logical person we can talk to who can help,” Jung explained. “You _do_ still want to know, don't you?”

_“I'll make her confess the truth. Until then... will you give me the benefit of the doubt?”_

“Yes. I want to know.” _Even if it hurts._

 

 

 

With their truce in place, the tense silence between So and Soo lessened noticeably. Though she still had her doubts, she couldn't help but hope that he had been truthful, while Yeonhwa had not... that perhaps there was, indeed, more to the story than she had been originally told.

That tiny bit of hope was enough to make Soo feel like she might actually, truly, end up enjoying this trip, after all.

“What do you want to do today?”

She had her reply ready. “Let’s walk around the town. I want to see if anything’s changed.”

They spent the rest of the morning walking through the market. Soo ate enough sweets to worry even her, but she couldn’t help herself. In the end, she suggested going to the area closest to the shore to see if the _halmeonis_ there had any good seafood for sale, but one thing she hadn’t considered was the stench and the moment they walked in, she immediately rushed to a nearby bush to puke.

“I told you not to eat too much,” So sighed, rubbing her back.

_It’s lucky that I did._

 

  

 

The drizzle started mid-afternoon, but it ended just as quickly as it came. With one glance at the sky, So determined it would rain again. With one glance at the weather forecast in her phone, Soo confirmed it would, but much later in the evening, so when he suggested going back to the resort, she desisted, but she knew how stubborn he could be especially when it came to her safety.

"You promised we'd go to the observatory," she grumbled, adding in just enough _aegyo_ to get what she wanted. A slight pout of the lips, a slight wrinkle on the nose, and a little puff of the cheeks, and she had him. "We don't need to stay very long. I just want to look at the stars."

"At the rate the clouds are rolling in, there might not be any sky left for us to view."

She pouted and walked away. "Fine. Let's just go back and sleep 'til morning."

He relented with a sigh. "We stay thirty minutes at most."

"Deal," she said, flashing him a rare sweet smile before leading the way to the taxi stand.

 

 

  

"I'm pretty sure Cassiopeia was the queen, and Andromeda was her daughter," Soo insisted, clicking her tongue as she checked her notes with a flashlight, while he tried to locate the coordinates to the stars she wanted.

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong." He hid a smile and stepped away. "Here's your Queen Cassiopeia."

"Yah! I know stars better than you do and I'm telling you you're wrong, Cassiopeia was the qu-" she dropped her hands to her sides and glared at him.

"Hm?" he blinked innocently. "You know stars better than me. If you say she was the queen, then she was the queen."

She whacked him with her brochure and put her eye to the eyepiece. "Oh, you found it!"

"Did you doubt I would?" he asked, not bothering to ask his next question: _Did you not trust me to do it for you?_

He was pretty sure he knew the answer to that.

"I didn't doubt your intentions, merely your abilities," she teased. She loved to tease him, though she hadn't done so in a while. The fact that she had teased him so casually this time surprised them both.

Speechless, they looked at each other.

"Soo-yah-"

"It might rain soon," she interrupted, quickly walking away.

He could only sigh after her.

 

 

  

The storm clouds grew heavier the closer they got to the resort, and when the rain did come, it came in torrents. They were soaked within minutes of stepping out of the taxi.

Though he tried to shield her from the worst of it as much as he could, she was strangely uncooperative. He called her name many times, telling her they'd move faster if she stopped struggling, but every time, she would tell him they would move even faster if they separated. He knew she didn't mean anything else by it, but it still hurt him. He couldn't understand why she kept trying to distance herself when all he was doing was keeping her from getting too wet.

Until he did.

 

Soo panicked.

Every time he tried to grab at her waist, she squirmed and offered him her arm, except he mistakenly thought it meant she wanted to get away from him. How could she tell him every other part of her body was free to touch, except the one part he seemed determined to get? She wasn't ready. She hadn't yet thought of how to tell him. Something told her having him find out in this way would be disastrous.

And it was.

Sighing with impatience, he had grabbed her at a spot where she just knew the little curve of her once-flat stomach would be noticeable. She froze and stared at him, but he only stared back. _Did he not feel anything?_

When more seconds passed with no reaction, she decided pretending to be ignorant would be best. She was too confused to do anything else.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him running towards the shelter of their room. There, she hastily pulled her soaked clothes away from the curves of her body and walked inside, ready to change, but he stopped her by grasping her elbow. "Wait."

Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that she felt deaf to everything else. She tried to keep her voice steady despite her nerves, "We're soaking wet. Shouldn't we change?"

There was a very pregnant pause before he spoke again. "Soo-yah." Slowly, he moved towards her.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Her avoiding him, her sudden fascination with baggy clothes, the brightness of her eyes, the constant flush of her cheeks... even her increased appetite and the way she had thrown up all over the bushes this morning.

She was afraid of him finding out. But why?

A shiver passed through her when his warm hand finally came in contact with the cool flesh beneath her soaked blouse. There was no hiding it now. She knew him too well... she saw the subtle surprise on his face when he felt it... the tensing of his broad shoulders.

She had to consciously remind herself to breathe.

"So... So, I..." she didn't know what to say.

Before she could think of something, he drew away from her. "Soo-yah, what...?"

"I... am..." she swallowed and forced her numb lips to move, "pregnant."

"I can see that," he snapped, and to her surprise and dread, he looked angry. "When...? Why...? Whose...?"

At the last question, her own anger flared. "Whose?" she shrieked in disbelief. "Yours! Who else?"

"We've barely touched each other for months. How can it be mine?"

She felt her jaw drop. "How far along do you think I am?"

He was no expert. Just looking at her gave him no answers, so he replied with another question, "Then why did you not tell me?"

She bristled at the accusation in his voice, as though this had all been _her_ fault, as though she had _wanted_ to keep it a secret from him this long, as though she had _enjoyed_  the secret, lonely trips to her doctor. "Are you kidding me? How could I?"

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe because if that's really my baby, then why would you keep it a secret from me this long? How _long_ were you going to keep it a secret, exactly? Or would you have never told me if I hadn't found out just now?"

She bit the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath. She had to calm down. " _You_ left me with no choice. The day I was going to tell you, you started avoiding me. Then I found out weeks later that you'd cheated on me. How do you think I felt? I thought you were going to leave me for  _her._ Was I supposed to beg? Use the baby as an excuse to make you stay? I may not be as proud as that woman, but I do still have my dignity."

"Soo-yah... I was never going to leave. I couldn't face you because I felt like shit for what happened."

"How was I supposed to know that? You wouldn't say anything! I had to hear everything from _her_."

His jaw clenched in anger - at her, at the other woman, Soo couldn't tell. "I told you not to talk to her anymore. All she does is upset you. Why didn't you listen?"

"I wanted to know why you were suddenly so distant. She offered me an explanation," she willfully forced back her tears. She wouldn't cry. Not now. 

His lips pressed themselves into a thin line. "So... you believe her more than me now?"

Was he purposely twisting her words? Was he choosing not to understand her? She supposed, after spending more than two months in silence, it was too much to expect they would still be on the same wavelength.

"I had no choice but to believe her," she snapped. "Put yourself in my shoes! If you had seen me kissing another man, what would you have done?"

For a very long time, they looked at each other. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next. She didn't know what more hurtful things they could, should say. Did she have the strength to drive that wedge between them for good? Did she really want to? 

In the silence, realization hit her like a truck. She could see it so clearly now... what she had wanted all along... 

And then, just as quickly as her realization came, he turned. She could only watch as he left... could only listen to the sound of the door closing. Then the silence. 

_I don't want to lose you._

Feeling weak, she slid to the floor and tried to make sense of what had just happened. 

 

  

 

Her phone wouldn't stop ringing. Someone had been calling nonstop for what felt like hours and it hurt her ears. Past caring about anything else for the moment, she forced herself to get up and put the caller on speaker. Even though she knew it wouldn't be him, she still found herself wishing... hoping. 

"It's us!" Eun's excited voice greeted her. "I told you Won-hyung was the way to go. He asked to meet us earlier and showed us the CCTV tapes from the hotel! I couldn't believe how quickly he got them, Jung and I tried so many times and-"

" _Hyeongsu-nim_ , the video confirmed that my brother did indeed get into a room with her... but it also showed him coming out less than two minutes later! Nothing could have happened!" For once, Eun didn't mind being interrupted by his younger cousin. "He was drunk and tired, so he probably wasn't even thinking straight."

"What did I tell you, Soo?" Eun said, trying to inject as much positivity into his voice as he could. "It was all her! She came to him first, brought him upstairs... everything! She lied to you. So, don't doubt hyung's feelings for you anymore, okay? You can talk to him now honestly. I promise you he loves you. Soo? Hey, are you there?"

Jung and Eun stopped talking to listen. It was only then that they realized she was crying. 

"Don't tell me..." Jung said in a subdued voice. 

"Soo..."

She was too distressed to speak. All the avoiding and the fighting, over lies fed to her by that hateful woman. Why?

She felt too weak and sick to even guess. But she should have tried harder... she knew now what she wished she had known then... that his sudden silence and distance had been for a reason. She wished she had asked him... wished she had forced him to open up... if he had been suffering in silence for whatever reason, she should have been there to comfort and understand him, instead of adding to his problems.

She no longer cared for anything else. She just wanted him back... for things to return to what they once were. _I wish none of this had happened._   "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." _for believing you had stopped loving me._

Suddenly, the door opened. The light from outside was barely enough to illuminate anything, and her vision was so blurred with tears that she couldn't really see his face, but she knew it was him. She considered the possibility that she might just be imagining things, but his touch, his warmth, his slow embrace felt too real. 

"I'm sorry."

She let go of the breath she had been holding and held tightly onto him. "I thought you'd left."

"I wouldn't leave you like this." He sounded tired, but the hands that held her were as strong as ever. "I thought about what you said, and you had every right to be upset. I kept my distance, not realizing what was happening around us... to us. I know now it was wrong of me to assume you would understand, even without an explanation. I didn't know about the pictures, or I would have told you sooner. I _was_ going to tell you. I just didn't know how."

"I'm listening now," she whispered quietly against his shoulder. 

"I felt weak and disgusted with myself that night, after the party. I came so close to doing something that I would have regretted forever... and all because I'd drunk enough alcohol to cloud my judgment." He closed his eyes and felt her... all of her. From her short hair, to her soft, damp skin... from her delicate shoulders, down her slender back, to her full hips. How he missed holding her like this. "I was being selfish, I can see that now. Until I could come to terms with my guilt, I couldn't face you. You are one of the few truly good things I value in this life, and I didn't want my memories, my feelings for you tainted in that way. You're too important to me."

His soft lips brushed her temple in a light kiss. "I'm sorry for everything I put you through. You are my love, my guiding star, my heart... and you deserved better. I never should have kept this from you for this long.

"Forgive me... Soo-yah. I never dreamed I would end up hurting you like this."

Each word was spoken with care and sincerity. No matter what happened that night, it was enough for her that it had been unwillingly done. It was enough for her that he was sorry. It was enough for her that he regretted it. "I love you too, and I forgive you."

The sound of sniffling noses brought a temporary halt to the conversation. 

So had no idea they had an audience. Soo hiccuped in surprise, the warm feeling of wanting to dissolve into nothing in his arms gone in an instant. She'd completely forgotten about those two. 

Eun and Jung must have sensed their continued presence was unwelcome and spoke their apologies for eavesdropping in chorus. 

"Goodnight," So said dryly, ending the call.

Embarrassed, Soo tried to stifle her hiccups. Eun and Jung's rude interruption had brightened the gloom somewhat. 

"They've been helping me," she told him softly, drying her tears.

"I know," he smiled, tucking her damp hair behind her ear. "I'll need to thank them for looking after the both of you for me."

Soo glanced up and met his eyes. She returned his warm smile with a shy one of her own. "Are you still angry that I didn't tell you sooner?"

He took a moment to assess his feelings. "Not angry, though I must admit to some hurt over the fact that I found out later than everyone else."

Feeling guilty, Soo apologized again, but he laughed it off with another kiss, this time to the forehead. "It doesn't matter. I understand why you hid it from me. A baby." He said the last word as though he still couldn't believe it was true.

"Yeah," she assured him it was by guiding his hand to once more feel the small but noticeable growth of her abdomen. "You're going to be a daddy."

He smiled. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

She shook her head. "I haven't found out. I wasn't sure if I should. My doctor knows though. Shall I give her a call?"

"It's up to you. It doesn't matter to me either way."

She smiled, feeling happier than she had in weeks. "It doesn't matter to me, either. Shall we let it be a surprise?"

He nodded and began to kiss her, softly, those little sweet kisses that used to calm her after every fight, that told her everything was going to be okay, that she was loved and not alone.

A loud clap of thunder shook the air right outside, but it didn't faze her in the slightest.

She was back in the arms of her man, being kissed to within an inch of insanity. Her body was driving her crazy with need, urging him to fulfill it. 

They made love to each other through the night, and in the morning, a new sun broke through the storm, making way for much clearer skies.

 

* * *

 

  _ **I'm holding back the tears** _

_**I run adding to the weight of my faith** _

_**To a place that is neither high nor low** _

_**Where a different me stands again** _

_**With a small smile I can laugh** _

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, nobody's perfect :P  
> One more chapter to go; see you on the 29th!
> 
> ==========================
> 
>  
> 
> Preview:  
>  _  
> "What if I told you I could get you what you want the most?" he whispered, slowly closing the distance between them.  
> _  
>   
> 
> _She shuddered in disgust, but couldn't help being intrigued. "What do you mean?"_
> 
>  
> 
> _His eyes glinted maliciously, and his smile made Yeonhwa's hairs stand on end. "You will have to do exactly as I say. A single mistake could cost us everything... but done perfectly..." his face split into a broad smile. "Will you do it?"_
> 
>  
> 
> ==========================
> 
> Song lyrics taken from the song [Holding Back the Tears by 동방신기](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeik89zMjyM)
> 
> _Note: Wook and Yeonhwa are **not** related. (thank heavens)_


	5. Clearer Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _He watched them from dusk until dawn. He watched them as the first light fell in through the white curtains, breaking into the coolness, the darkness of the previous night._  
>     
>  _His two greatest loves._

_"You said you would divorce your wife for me," she hissed. "It's been two years. Are you going to do it or not?"_

_To her horror and disgust, he laughed. "You really thought I would? I'm not a man who would throw my things away for a girl."_

_She's so angry, she slaps him._

_"Careful," he warned, grabbing her hand when she moved to strike again. "You may be carrying my child, but I can still hurt you." She gasped when his free hand began to roam her body, lingering tantalizingly over her fragile stomach._

_"Get away from me!" she pushed him as hard as she could and glared at him._

_"Don't be like that. I know very well you've only been using me these past two years," he said quietly. "It's my brother you've always wanted, even though he broke your heart."_

_"That's right," she spat in anger, "but now that my career has soared, I've no more use for you. So why should I even bother to keep this baby? Since you obviously don't care, I'll just get rid of it right now." She ripped open her bag and took out a bottle of pills, but she had just barely opened the cap when it was swiped out of her hands. She looked at the discarded pills on the ground and then at him. "What is it? Feeling sentimental?"_

_"What if I told you I could get you what you_   _want the most?" he whispered, slowly closing the distance between them._

_She shuddered in disgust, but couldn't help being intrigued. "What do you mean?"_

_His eyes glinted maliciously, and his smile made Yeonhwa's hairs stand on end. "You will have to do exactly as I say. A single mistake could cost us everything... but done perfectly..." his face split into a broad smile. "Will you do it?"_

 

 

 

 

The anger and disapproval sparked by the scandal of HB entertainment's newest, hottest sensation could not be quelled. Hate comments flooded every article, every SNS connected to her, day and night.

 

_"At first glance, you can actually tell she's a homewrecker."_

_"It's a shame. I thought she had so much potential."_

_"There are so many rich men in the country, why did she have to go after married men with families? Oh, because they're handsome. The epitome of a shallow, greedy bitch."_

_"Those poor children will be fatherless from now on. Isn't she ashamed?"_

_"She really is a good actress. Everything about her is a lie. Never watching anything with her in it, what a joke."_

_"Happy to ruin not one family, but two. She really is something."_

 

"What are you saying?" her low voice shook from both anger and humiliation.

This was not supposed to happen. He was not supposed to remember. They promised her he wouldn't. It was all going so well... those two had avoided each other for so long... she thought it would only be a matter of time before they split for good.

Her manager scratched his head, looking exhausted. "The public wants nothing to do with you right now. More than half of the audience of your fanmeeting have refunded their tickets, and even though we tried to sell them at half the price, well over a thousand still remain. There are rumors of disappointed fans going to your concert just to spite you. It's better this way."

"So I just cancel my entire tour?" she shrieked in anger. "And what of my latest project? Filming for the next scene started 3 hours ago!"

"Not for you. They're starting over from scratch. The director has cast a different actress to fill your shoes," he informed her, not without pity. "Rising star Kim Woohee. Lead actor Baek Ah threatened to abandon the project if they continued to deny his requests. Your commercial deals and modeling shoots have also been cancelled. I'm sorry, Yeonhwa-yah... until everything dies down, you should just focus on resting and eating. Do it for your baby if not for yourself."

The public was supposed to sympathize with her, not hate her. She had her whole story planned for the press: _After losing her love to a villain, it was only a matter of time before her former lover would rekindle their past flame together after one drunk, passionate love affair. But it was a mistake she was going to apologize for and she was going to reject him and raise their baby by herself. Be a strong example to all single mothers out there._

Revenge was supposed to be hers, not theirs.

She grabbed whatever was nearest her - a Best Actress Award for her last drama - and flung it across the room, where it shattered into a thousand pieces.

 

 

 

 

Yo grabbed his younger cousin by the collar and pushed him up against the wall. "You... it was you, wasn't it? You betrayed me."

Won winced in pain and pushed him away, annoyed. "Don't blame me. Your brother called and told me he was going to tell the President about my gambling, so I had no choice but to release the CCTV footage."

"And _me_?" Yo sneered awfully, eyes gone wild. "You aren't worried about _me_ telling my father? You've become very brave, Won-ah. You forget that I know you've been gambling away, not your money, but the company's. I have the documents to prove it."

"So has the exact same documents, only he isn't threatening me with them. On the contrary, he's offered to help me," Won drawled lazily, triumph in his dark eyes.

"What's he going to do, pay off your debts? Soo is pregnant. He'll never spend that much on you." Yo's attitude changed suddenly, from looking crazed with anger, to looking crazed with nerves. "Help me, Won-ah. You can help me fix this."

"I'm sorry, hyung. I did everything I could to help you. I even drugged your brother and put an aphrodisiac into his drink like you asked me to. But that plan failed miserably. All your plans have failed. That's why I've changed my mind. I'll be backing So from now on. He has always been a favorite of the President, and his life isn't falling apart. It's only natural I side with him. Then, if that's all, I need to get back to work..." Though Won felt guilty about leaving his cousin in this way, he had no choice. He nodded once and began to walk off, stopping only when his cousin shouted again.

"You can't do this to me! That was my last chance! When the divorce becomes final, father will kick me out, mother will disown me, I'll have nothing, I'll-"

"I'm sorry, hyung..." Won said softly, eyeing his cousin with pity, "but you should have thought of that before you went and got another woman pregnant."

 

 

 

 

So closed the door behind him and cricked his neck with a groan. Because of the storm, the traffic had been terrible and he was dead tired from driving. He shed off his coat, shook his wet hair, and walked around in search of his wife.

He found her in the kitchen, preparing something on the marble counter. She had her back to him and classical music filled the room, which meant she probably didn't know he was home. He walked quietly up to her and slipped his arms around her, resting his hands on her swollen belly.

She flinched in alarm and growled in annoyance when she realized it was him, but he planted a large kiss on her cheek, and she decided to accept it as a peace offering. "A little heads up next time, if you don't mind, or I might accidentally drop your baby on the floor from fright."

He gasped and hugged her tighter, protectively. "You wouldn't dare."

"I wouldn't, but I can't say the same for my body. It betrays me at the worst possible moments," she grumbled.

He chuckled and eyed what she was doing. "Porridge again?" There was a plethora of ways to describe his tiny spouse's cooking. It could be delicious, fulfilling, rich, bland, even the occasional hit-and-miss...

Or it could be porridge.

Unfortunately for his bowels, she'd been craving the stuff lately. 

"I asked my mother for help this time," she said defensively, "I'll get it right, you'll see."

"The last time I tried your porridge, I ended up having diarrhea."

She sniffed, hurt that he should keep rubbing  _that_  little incident in her face. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to taste it mys-"

He stopped her before she could finish with a kiss to her ear. "You will do no such thing."

"Hmph! But we wouldn't want you to get diarrhea now, would we, darling?" she addressed their unborn baby.

"Better me than you two," he muttered, letting her go. "Okay, tell me what I need to do."

"I want to know what happened to Won. And Chaeryung."

He had known she would ask and came prepared with a quick summary. "Chaeryung has been fired. But I already told you it was bound to happen. When Wook found out about her relationship with Won and her role in his gambling activities, he was furious."

"Oh." Though Soo felt sorry for Chaeryung, who had an entire family to support, she also felt the woman should have known better than to give him everything he asked for out of "love", especially when those things were never hers to give away. "And your cousin?"

"Same as my brother," So shrugged. "Disowned and stripped of all his shares. They're banned from ever meeting again. He'll be working as a minimum-wage laborer at a separate warehouse starting tomorrow. I've helped him enough so that he'll only need to work 25 years to pay off his entire debt to the company. After that, he's on his own.

"They should count themselves lucky we aren't in Goryeo, or they'd have been flogged and executed."

She smiled impishly at him. "Someone's been watching too many dramas."

"Someone has someone else to blame for that," he glared pointedly at her.

"What? Don't lie, you enjoy watching them with me!" she laughed heartily at him.

He grinned and pulled her into a hug so he could whisper into her ear, "I enjoy cuddling with you on the sofa. That's not the same thing."

She smiled and hugged him back, feeling safe at last. He hadn't lied when he told her he would fix everything.

The last time she had seen Yeonhwa on the news was about a month ago, when it was reported she had been rushed to the hospital and had given birth prematurely. There had been complications, and both mother and child were still fighting for their lives. 

The news blamed stress. Soo blamed karma, though she did feel sorry for the child, who was, after all, innocent.

With such a low monthly income, Soo wondered if Yo would still be able to pay for child support, to give the child the kind of care he needed while his mother was indisposed.

"Thank you for giving me another chance."

Soo blinked and brought her mind back to the present. "Hm?"

"To fix things. For believing me that night."

Ah. "After everything you've done for me, after my accident..." she began in a quiet voice, "You're someone I'll never be able to forget. You gave me a second chance at life. How could I not give you the same?"

"Still... when you asked me how I would have felt if our roles had been reversed, that's when it hit me... how lucky I was that you were even still there to listen. I probably would have left and murdered the man."

Soo snorted. "Don't underestimate me. I would have murdered that woman if she hadn't told me about her baby."

He recognized her morbid attempt to lighten the conversation, but he could only manage a bitter smile. "I said some things that night that I still regret. I really am very sorry."

She shook her head. "We were both wronged. You were tricked, I was lied to. If anyone's at fault, it's them." She could see he was not convinced and knew he still blamed himself. "I've already come to terms with what happened, and so should you. Think of it as a test... we passed, didn't we?"

She forced him to look at her; gently smoothed out his frown with her fingers. "You made a mistake, but it was not your fault. Do you not believe you deserve my forgiveness? Do you not believe you have my whole heart?"

He closed his eyes with an inward sigh. It would be a while before he could truly forgive himself for that momentary weakness, but he shouldn't punish her for it as well, not when he knew how much she wanted him to put everything behind him and move forward. With her. With the precious little gift he held carefully in his hands. 

He looked at her and smiled. "I don't know about that. It's hard to know how you really feel whenever I come home and find you cooking porridge. Then I have no trouble believing just how deadly you can be."

Just like that, her indignation flared. " _I'll_ be eating it anyway, so you-"

"Yah, I didn't say I wouldn't eat it."

She lifted her chin in defiance. "Since you don't like it so much, you needn't force yourself." She released him and walked away, but he was quick to pull her back. 

Not bothering to hide his amusement, he chuckled as he tried to coax her back into his embrace. "Don't leave me," he pleaded, "my love, my baby, my sweetheart, my darling."

She narrowed her eyes. "Go on. I didn't say you could stop."

He grinned and continued in between kisses, "My joy in the morning, my comfort at night, my thought every second of every day. You are my kiss of sunshine, my soft drizzle of rain; my heart, my soul, my everything." He traced light kisses from her jaw, up her cheek, to her temple, to the sensitive apex between her closed lids. "I will never let you go. Eternity was made for us. I will endure every hardship, every test of time just to find you and be with you again. My Soo."

She blushed at the talk of eternity and lifetimes, but she knew he meant every word. She couldn't explain it... the sensation running through her body, enveloping her, reaching into her soul... It was him, but it wasn't. The feeling felt older somehow, strange yet familiar, like an old friend come to greet her after a long absence.

_My Soo._

He was looking at her strangely. She wondered if he felt it too. But a blink and a breath later and it was gone.

Giggling with satisfaction, she hugged him back. _You're mine without a doubt_. "Okay. You may eat my porridge."

He sighed dramatically. "Dealing with you is harder than dealing with the board."

She took it as a compliment and laughed, but she had to let go when a nice, strong kick from their little person forced her to. She winced. "Yeah, baby's hungry and so am I. Husband, go do the dishes while I make the _perfect porridge_."

He smiled grimly and secretly ordered takeout.

 

 

 

 

_He watched them from dusk until dawn. He watched them as the first light fell in through the white curtains, breaking into the coolness, the darkness of the previous night._

_His two greatest loves._

_Like a timer, the light woke his first. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him._

_He felt he could watch her forever._

_He knew he would._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> 1\. Soo's terrible porridge-making skills: she made Lady Oh porridge in the drama, and the latter was not impressed. I may have exaggerated it a bit in this fic for the sake of fluff :D  
> 2\. Ji Mong mentioned Won was interested in chemistry, which is where I got inspiration for the drugging :D  
> 3\. In the drama, Yo was described as someone who loved to exploit peoples' weaknesses.  
> 4\. On the subject of "cheating", now you all know he was drugged :D this means he was not fully conscious when Yeonhwa tried to rape him. Rape and cheating are tricky subjects, but it is my belief that the blame in cases such as this should not be on the victim. He did not drink the drugs willingly, so there really was no consent between them. He was tricked, used and manipulated. If you feel differently, then I'm sorry but we'll just have to agree to disagree (ˉ(∞)ˉ)V  
> 5\. Lots of easter eggs in the conversations! Were you able to spot any familiar lines and parallel events? 
> 
> As for the rest of the unspoken plot and future... I leave it to your colorful imagination.
> 
> This was written in a span of 3 days, so do forgive any mistakes.
> 
> Additional fluff between SoSoo towards the end written for BubbleTurtle because I'm supposed to be good to her so she won't break my heart in her fic [Fate's Shadow](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8682226/chapters/19903348) (which is a good read, if you haven't read it yet). I made So grovel! Though probably not in the way you wanted or expected, but still... mercy, sunbae!! 
> 
> Also, I know I said it was a modern version of SoSoo's breakup, but I couldn't bring myself to give them the same ending, even in my depressed, tired state, so... tada! Happy ending for everyone! (sort of)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who stuck around and took the time to comment and/or leave a kudos, as well as for the suggestions and reactions! I actually had to edit some parts according to the comments, and I think the story turned out better because of it. So thank you!
> 
> Lastly, I'm sorry for the anxiety and heartache I may have caused (hehe).
> 
> A pleasant day to all!


End file.
